Flame
by Apprentice Witch
Summary: Ritchie, fresh from the Pokemon league, meets up with Butch and Cassidy. He won't tell them what they want to know, and the Rockets don't let it end there. Optimism against ambition isn't pretty.


**Flame**

Ritchie stood proudly in the line, in front of the flame that was supposed to have originated from the legendary pokemon, Moltres. He was lucky to have been able to make it to the top eight of the pokemon league. It was always disappointing to lose and he did feel that disappointment, but he knew that he'd done his best. He'd also defeated a lot of talented trainers to get where he currently was, and that was something to be proud of.

Ritchie glanced over toward Ash, the last trainer that he'd defeated before his own defeat. Ash smiled and waved to everyone, happily holding up his reward for having made the top sixteen, also proud. Ritchie smiled just to see his attitude. Upon meeting Ash, feeling his tough spirit and determination and seeing how gentle and patient the optimistic trainer was with his pokemon still... Ritchie had known right away that he could learn a lot from Ash.

And now, he learned just to smile for his win, and not forget to praise his pokemon for their efforts. As they cleared the stadium, Ritchie ran over to Ash. Ash waved and greeted him. "Congratulations, Ritchie," he said.

"You too, Ash," Ritchie said. "I guess here's where we part ways."

"That's right," Ash said. "But next time we meet, I'm going to be the winner for sure!"

"Yeah?" Ritchie said, impressed by Ash's intensity.

"Well, we'll definitely meet again. And then, we will battle again, right?" Ash said with a smile.

Ritchie smiled back at him. "Yeah!" he said. "If your Charizard had cooperated this time, you probably would have-"

"No way, no excuses, it was your win, Ritchie," Ash said.

"Yeah, it was Ash's fault for even choosing him," Misty said. "He could _never_-"

"Come on, Misty, I already said enough," Ash said.

Ritchie nodded. He bid farewell to Ash and his friends. He kind of envied them. Both Ash's friends for being able to travel with him, and Ash himself, for having such close friends to travel with. He was always on his own, and had been since the start of his journey. He couldn't join them, because he and Ash were direct rivals. Since they were more or less going for the same goals, it wouldn't make sense, to go head to head for every success. Oh well.

He had noticed that Ash kept his pikachu out of the pokeball all the time. Was that something he could do, too? Ritchie took out his own pikachu's pokeball, which he'd labeled with a thunderbolt sticker. "Go, Sparky!" he said.

"Pikachu!" Sparky said.

"Sparky, do you think you'd enjoy traveling outside your pokeball?" Ritchie asked.

"Pika?" Sparky said, somewhat confused.

"Well, I just thought it might be fun. You can even ride on my shoulder if you want, like Ash's pikachu," Ritchie said.

"Pika," Sparky nodded, hopping up on Ritchie's shoulder.

Ritchie smiled. It would seem less lonely this way. He wondered where he could go next, now. He had won all the badges he needed, hadn't he? There were still more gyms, in Kanto and elsewhere, but Ritchie knew that there were other ways to train and challenge himself. As he sat by the fire, he took out his maps, and opened one up.

The Sevii Islands. The collection of islands south of Kanto. It was a place where the elite trained. Although there were no gyms, there was plenty else to discover and explore. Being uncrowded, it was the perfect place for a lonely person like him. Or was that the opposite? Either way, it seemed like a place his pokemon would enjoy, and one that he'd come back stronger from. "Alright, we're going here," Ritchie declared.

"Pika?" Sparky said, staring curiously at the map.

"You'll love it, Sparky. There's lots of sights to see, plenty of ocean and fresh air. We're going to have a blast."

* * *

"It's so fucking humid here," Butch cursed as sat back to back with Cassidy, staring to the skies.

"Come on, the weather's not going to kill you or anything," Cassidy said.

"If the weather doesn't, the island itself will, huh?" Butch said. The island was well known for its many dangers and trappings. Not to mention there was a huge active volcano in the middle of it all.

"As if you or I are going to let something like that get the best of us," Cassidy said.

"Na," Butch said. "It's getting to me, though. Roughing it in the middle of nowhere."

"Yeah," Cassidy agreed with a sigh. "The locals are starting to get suspicious, I think. How much longer can we pull off this 'scientist' facade?"

"It shouldn't take that much longer," Butch said. They'd spotted the pokemon they were looking for, and now were just trying to track its resting location.

"One way or another," Cassidy said.

Butch nodded, biting his lip. Moltres, a legendary bird pokemon, had many locations that it visited from time to time. It had been here for a while already. They were running out of time to capture it for themselves. And if they didn't, they'd have to return to Rocket headquarters empty-handed. As failures.

But everyone already expected them to fail, anyway. No one on Team Rocket had ever captured any legendary pokemon. As a group, they could barely contain their own self-grown powerful pokemon. Two agents going out into the wild on their own, it was considered a fool's errand. But he and Cassidy had declared the mission their own anyway, confidently saying they'd definitely succeed. That they'd establish their superiority over all other rocket members of their type by capturing this pokemon.

Except now, it looked kind of hopeless. They might have to go back empty handed, looking like... Butch smiled and stopped mulling over the situation as he spotted the sight on the ground. "Hey, Cassidy. I've spotted the rare Pikachu," he said.

Cassidy smirked as she looked toward where Butch indicated, and saw a kid with a pikachu on his shoulder wandering around the mountain. "Ah, so it is. I'll have to inform Jessie that the pokemon's she's been seeking was here all along."

"Man, those guys are a total joke," Butch said.

"They sure are," Cassidy said. "They really don't belong in Team Rocket."

"Including James?" Butch said. It seemed most of the time that Cassidy was really into him, but now maybe she'd realized...

"Of course including him. I feel sorry for him. I wish I could get him to join our group, I could make better use of him than Jessie."

"So... You want him as a gofer? An underling or something?" Butch asked.

"What's _we'd_ do with him for work would be secondary to what _I_ want him for. I'd like him for companionship. Maybe even something like a husband," Cassidy said.

Butch tried to hide the hurt he felt from hearing this clear declaration. He was glad he wasn't facing her as he frowned in his heartbreak, but he put on a stony expression soon enough. What about him, he wanted to say. He was already by her side, all the time. He was loyal to her, he wanted her, he'd gladly be her husband or anything up to what she wanted in a second.

And what she wanted was him as a partner, only in the context of being a teammate, a co-worker. If that was what she wanted then he'd gladly just be that, even if he wanted more. Butch continued the search into the skies for Moltres.

Ritchie wandered through the woods, battling several wild pokemon with Sparky. "Great, Sparky! You were amazing today in battle."

"Pika!" Sparky happily accepted the praise.

"You know, they say Moltres has been seen around here," Ritchie mentioned.

"Pika?"

"Remember at the pokemon league?" Ritchie said. The pokemon league had been a few months ago by now. "It was a flame from Moltres that looked over us the entire time. Remember how bright it was?"

"Pikachu!"

"Well, the pokemon Moltres must be an amazing sight," Ritchie said. He tried to imagine it, the entire pokemon lit up by that amazing flame. And just then, as he and Sparky went over a peak, they saw it.

Moltres swooped down, apparently oblivious to the two of them. It roosted on a cliff side, almost in a cave. Ritchie peered down. If he hadn't seen the pokemon fly inside himself, he might have never found this hiding place. But now he and Sparky wandered around, found the perfect angle, and stared inside at the resting majestic pokemon. "Wow..." Ritchie said to himself.

"Pikachu?" Sparky pointed toward Moltres, motioning as if to battle it.

Ritchie smiled and shook his head. "No, Sparky. This pokemon we should probably just leave alone. Moltres might get sick of every human he sees trying to battle and catch him."

"Pikachu," Sparky said, appearing to easily accept that idea.

Moltres now caught sight of them, and appeared alarmed. Ritchie put his hands up. "Hey, don't worry," he said. "I just wanted to catch a look at you...I'm Ritchie, a pokemon trainer... But I really don't want to battle you. I'll just leave now."

Moltres almost appeared to understand the message, and trusted Ritchie. Ritchie smiled, taking one last look before he started to climb around the volcano again. That night, he happily told the story inside the restaurant he ate at in town. Several people were impressed, and some recalled similar stories, though they could never find the same spot again.

"Well, well," Cassidy muttered from the next table over. "And you wanted us to cook for ourselves tonight."

"Good thing we got lazy, especially since it seems like we'll need the energy for something else soon," Butch said.

They paid the bill and left just as Ritchie did. "Hey, kid," Butch began.

"What is it?" Ritchie asked, a little taken back by this random person's abrupt mode of speech.

"We couldn't help but overhear the amazing story you told in there," Cassidy said.

"Yeah, and we've actually been tracking Moltres for a while," Butch said. "We're scientists!" he added with a flimsy voice.

"That's right, that's right," Cassidy confirmed. "We've just been wanting to get close to Moltres to get a sample of its flame to study."

"Then why don't you ask the folks at the Kanto pokemon league? The torch there has Moltres's flame," Ritchie said.

Butch tried not to grimace. Know it all, he thought. Cassidy laughed awkwardly. "But we want a fresh sample, of course. There's no way of telling if the league's torch flame is _really_ from Moltres or not," she said.

"It is!" Ritchie insisted happily. "The flame I saw on the torch when I competed, and Moltres's own blaze, it had the same amazing light and intensity. I'm positive that they're the same."

Butch raised an eyebrow. Competed? Just how old was this kid, anyway? Well, as long as he had an official trainer's licence and some badges, he could compete, and that was that, wasn't it?

"Well, just the same, we need some confirmation," Cassidy said.

"The yokels here in town couldn't map the location they saw it, but I bet you could," Butch said. When he'd spotted this pikachu-kid before, he'd been carrying around a map diligently, almost seemed like he could read it, even.

"Yeah, probably," Ritchie said.

"Super!" Cassidy said. "So, you'll help us."

"No, sorry," Ritchie said. "It's one thing if you find it on your own, but I don't think I should just reveal the location of a legendary pokemon on my own, right?"

Butch and Cassidy both paused, containing their anger. "But we're scientists," Cassidy said eventually.

"Yeah! We're looking for information to provide to the world." Butch said.

"We just want to study it... So you can help us out a little, right?" Cassidy said.

"Sorry... But it just wouldn't seem right to me. You know?"

"O-Of course," Cassidy said. "Thanks for all the help you've already provided us."

"R-Right!" Butch said. They both ran off.

"Weird people," Ritchie commented to Sparky as they moved on.

"Hey, Cassidy, we aren't just going to take this shit from that brat, are we?" Butch said in a whisper.

"Of course not. As if we're going to let a kid like that stand in our way when we're already this close," Cassidy said.

"Right. So now let's turn around and-"

"We can't deal with him right in the middle of town, Butch. There's plenty of nosey people here who will notice and try and stop us. We're already known as 'suspicious', you know."

"Yeah, of course," Butch said. Something about this kid had annoyed the hell out of him, and he'd been a little more gung-ho than usual. "So now-"

"Now we go back toward our camp, like we usually do. But we really wait for that kid to head back to _his_ camp. You remember seeing him set it up, right?"

Butch nodded. He'd seen that kid around There wasn't a pokemon center on this island, so he'd definitely go back there for the night. "And then, we'll grab him, right?"

"Of course," Cassidy said with a smile.

Cassidy and Butch went back to their camp, quickly changed and grabbed some equipment, then ran over to Ritchie's camp. They were relieved to see he was there and hadn't gotten distracted in town or something. The two scanned around, and noticed that he was certainly completely alone, and upon feeding his pokemon, he returned them to their pokeballs, save for the pikachu. "Everything looks good," Cassidy said in a whisper. "You ready?

"Ready. Don't you think this might be a little overkill?" Butch said, motioning at the equipment that Cassidy held.

"I think it'll send the right message," Cassidy said.

"Right on. Let's move, then."

The two jumped into the open. "Hey, kid," Butch said loudly.

Ritchie stood up and looked around, on alert. "Hello?" he said, wondering who it could be at this time. He squinted into the darkness, not seeing anything.

"Perfect shot," Cassidy said, pulling the trigger. A net came out, normally used for capturing large, powerful pokemon. But she had more ammunition to load for catching Moltres, so had used this powerful device on this kid. It wrapped around both him and his pikachu, shocking them both. Cassidy and Butch stood and watched him screaming without much reaction.

"S-Sparky," Ritchie said. He reached into his pocket and fumbled for his pokeball, then returned Sparky. After that final attempt, he blacked out from the pain.

Cassidy and Butch moved forward once he was unconscious and Cassidy had disarmed the net. "Nice of him to make it easy for us," Butch said, opening the net and grabbing Sparky's pokeball. He grabbed Ritchie's backpack from the ground, put it in, then put the bag over his own shoulder. "Looks like I've got myself a rare pikachu," Butch said.

"Come on, quit messing around. Help me with this kid," Cassidy said.

Butch nodded, and lifted Ritchie up on one side while Cassidy took the other. They carried him to an abandoned shack nearby the volcano, tossing him carelessly on the table. "So, now what?" Butch said.

"Who knows how much time we have left before the pokemon moves on. I say one of us takes care of the kid, while the other heads out to the mountain to make sure there's time to catch this damn pokemon," Cassidy said.

"And you want to...?" Butch said.

"I'll take the pokemon, of course. I think you'd be better at convincing the kid to spill it than I would."

"Yeah, maybe," Butch said. "Whatever you want to do."

"That's what I want to do," Cassidy affirmed. They unloaded their equipment, and Cassidy took the essentials for pokemon capture. She wandered out with their water type pokemon, net launcher, and a radio to communicate.

"Shit," Butch cursed once he was alone, turning his flashlight to the kid on the table. What was he supposed to do with him, anyway? It was true that he was good at extracting information, but how old was this kid? Nine, maybe?

Legally, he'd have to be at least ten, Butch recalled. So young and so naïve about the world. The kid trusted the townsfolk, even trusted _them_ so easily. If someone that young was going to wander around alone, someone bad was going to rob him or whatever eventually, Butch considered. He might as well be the first.

Butch put the flashlight in the middle of the table, then pulled the kid out of the net and hoisted him in one of the chairs, tying him up. He then began to look through his backpack. First, Butch found his pokedex, containing his trainer licence. So, the kid was only ten. Less than a year as a trainer and had already competed in the league? Unbelievable. Butch took out his pokeballs and lined them up. He carried Ritchie in the chair to the corner, then grabbed a chair for himself and sat right across from him. He put the light source down on the floor, and then approached Ritchie.

"Wake up," Butch ordered, pouring some water on him as he smacked him a little.

Ritchie began to blink, he looked around, confused, still feeling somewhat in a dream-like state. But he shuddered and was moved back to reality as Butch splashed him with water again and gave him another hard smack across the face. "Wh-what-" he began. Butch sat back and folded his arms upon seeing the kid had finally woken up. As Ritchie's vision began to focus, he realized that he recognized this person. "You're that scientist," he said.

Butch sat back and smirked, then put his arms down as he looked at the object in his hands.

"No, wait," Ritchie said as he observed that he'd changed clothing. Wearing some dark clothing, almost like a thief. Well, dark except for the white gloves, and red letter on the outfit. The uniform was different than what he'd seen before, but the affiliation was still pretty likely. "You're from Team Rocket!"

"That's right," Butch said. "And you're some trainer from Kanto, huh?" He'd been looking through Ritchie's information through his trainer licence on the pokedex. "You're a green little trainer, huh? But you've done pretty well for yourself. Your team seems amateurish, but you were still able to make the pokemon league. Must have some talent, though I bet you dropped out of the running pretty quickly. What were you? In the top hundred?"

"I made the top eight," Ritchie said.

Again Butch was surprised by this kid. "Fairly impressive," he said. "You must have a lot of potential and talent, here."

Ritchie had heard that before from many people. It usually had him feeling a little embarrassed from all of the praise. He knew he had a lot to improve on, after all. But here he just felt cold. He knew this person hadn't brought him into this dark, unknown location just to praise him.

"Would be a shame," Butch said.

"Uhm..." Ritchie said uneasily.

"Yeah, it would be a shame if I had to snuff out all that potential right here."

Ritchie said nothing, beginning to feel a strong fear. He moved his arm toward where his pokeballs would normally be... He'd left them in his bag. He supposed this man would have removed Sparky's from his person for sure. He was absolutely defenseless here.

"I've seen you when you've been out training," Butch said. "Another sign of potential and intelligence, you really seem to be able to read that map pretty well. No, you wouldn't be the type of idiot trainer to get lost in the woods, would you? You know exactly where you're going."

Butch tossed Ritchie's pokedex to the ground. "I imagine you remember exactly where you saw Moltres. You could probably pinpoint its position exactly, couldn't you? I bet you kept it fresh in your mind, maybe you wanted to go take another peek later." Butch looked directly in Ritchie's eyes. That was going to be the truth of the moment. Even if he had over-estimated the kid's map reading skills and memory, he'd be useless to him. Bluff or truth, he wasn't going to accept that the kid just didn't remember where he'd seen the legendary pokemon.

But Ritchie didn't even think to bluff. "I can't tell you that. Pokemon like Moltres... They should really remain undisturbed."

"Fuck that!" Butch said, shaking Ritchie in his seat. "You're going to tell me, and you'd better not take too long doing it, either. And then, don't misunderstand. I lied when I said I was a scientist. A smart kid like you ought to have figured that out by now. But just be clear that we aren't going to study it, we're going to catch it."

Ritchie was surprised that he was being so honest. He was reminded of the Team Rocket members that had bothered him and Ash during the pokemon league. Ash said that Team Rocket bothered him and tried to steal his pokemon all the time while harassing those around him, but he always faced them down. Ash was so brave to be in situations like this all the time and never flinch. If Ash were there now, Ritchie was sure that he'd shout at this man and never tell him anything, then defeat him and send him flying away. Ritchie was going to be like Ash. "There's no way I'll just sit here and tell you what you need to know. A noble pokemon like Moltres shouldn't have to work for Team Rocket."

Butch sat back and looked at him blankly. It gave Ritchie the worst feeling, just to have him sit back and say nothing, staring at him. After a few seconds of silence, what had seemed like such a long time to Ritchie, Butch stood up, walked behind him, and came back. Ritchie was scared as he saw what he held. In one hand, just a map. In the other, a gun. "Now, want to rethink that?" he said. "The consequences won't be so slight if you refuse."

Ritchie trembled, but still looked away adamantly. "You won't kill me."

"Oh? I won't?"

"You'll never know what you need to if you do," Ritchie said.

Smart ass, Butch thought. "Hm. I guess you're right. Good thing you're thinking logically, because I sure as hell wasn't," he said sarcastically.

Ritchie couldn't feel relieved at all, even as Butch seemed to confirm that his life wasn't in danger.

"I could still hurt you pretty badly without killing you, though," Butch said. "Maybe after a little more pain, you'd be willing to tell me a little more."

Ritchie looked away. He could take it. There's no way he'd reveal the location of that poor pokemon just to save himself a little suffering. He began to tense up, ready to be hit or whatever else by this person.

Butch just touched his chin gently, forcing Ritchie's gaze back in his direction. "But that probably won't work," he said as if he'd read Ritchie's mind. "You love pokemon, don't you? They don't hand out pokemon to trainers who dislike pokemon in Kanto, after all."

Ritchie said nothing. Of course he liked pokemon. That was why he wouldn't reveal Moltres's location, after all.

"I guess you think you're being noble and all, keeping the legendary pokemon's location a secret. You're a good kid who's loyal to all pokemon, and won't ever betray any of them, huh?"

Yes, that was it exactly. He knew that Moltres didn't want people disturbing him, especially not some evil members of Team Rocket. He was a decent, noble trainer who wouldn't betray the legendary pokemon no matter what the circumstances, not even in these extreme ones.

"Yeah, don't think I don't know about the bullshit optimistic trainer morality. But never mind that. What about your own pokemon? You're loyal to them, aren't you? I can tell. I noticed from your records that you only have six. That's the most a trainer can carry, huh? Didn't want to leave any of them behind somewhere, did you?"

He was right again, Ritchie thought. Ritchie hadn't wanted to say good-bye to any of his pokemon upon catching new ones. Not that he'd stay like that his entire trainer career, but he was just starting out and so far he had hesitated to catch new ones after pokemon number six.

"You must really love your pokemon. Your brand of trainer morality says you have to, after all. But your trainer morality doesn't approach the next question I'm going to ask you," Butch said.

Ritchie swallowed nervously. That question would be...

"Your pokemon. The legendary pokemon outside. Which one do you choose?"

Ritchie looked at the man dubiously. He wouldn't choose between them.

"I guess your brand of trainer morality says that no pokemon is above another, and you all just work together for the best if you're in danger. All or none," Butch said, pausing as he looked down at Ritchie. "That's not really a possible answer to my question here today."

"It's true, though," Ritchie said. "I can't put any one pokemon above another."

"Right," Butch said dryly. "You know, Team Rocket makes a habit of stealing other people's pokemon."

Ritchie knew. That group that Ash said followed him around had stolen a bunch of pokemon from league participants. He and Ash had gotten them back. Ash said they'd stolen his pokemon tons of times, and he'd always gotten them back, usually right away. "So, you're going to take my pokemon?" he asked. He wasn't going to tell them anything, so he supposed that was the question this person was asking him. Tell this person where Moltres was, or have his own pokemon taken away. Well, he still wouldn't tell. Team Rocket could take his pokemon, and he'd eventually get them back, just like Ash did.

"I'm just giving you some information," Butch said. "Once we take the pokemon, they're retrained and appropriated into the ranks. But no matter how hard we try, sometimes there are pokemon that just won't cooperate. It's a shame. What do you think we do with those pokemon?" Butch said. "Do you think we give them back or something? No fucking way. Team Rocket's not that kind of group. We have a way to dispose of them right in their pokeballs."

Ritchie froze in fear, imagining that happening to one of his pokemon. But it wouldn't. He'd get them back before anything close to that occurred.

"I happen to know exactly how to do that," Butch said. He stood up and went behind Ritchie, coming back tossing up a pokeball casually. He took a closer look at it. "I notice you label your pokeballs with little sticker symbols. Adorable. I suppose this one is your Charmander," he said.

Ritchie stared. The flame symbol on the pokeball was indeed for Zippo, his Charmander.

"Your first pokemon, huh? Wonder what made you choose Charmander? That species is supposed to be the hardest to train of the three Kanto starters."

Ritchie recalled the day he'd started his journey. He hadn't really decided on his first pokemon before going to the laboratory, but this Charmander specifically seemed to call for him in spirit, and it hadn't been a very difficult choice. He didn't know if Squirtle or Bulbasaur would have been easier to raise or not, but this gentle pokemon was loyal to him and eager to battle. He really did love Zippo, the same as he loved the rest of his pokemon.

"So, a little more specific with the question this time. What's it going to be? The fire-type legendary pokemon? Or your fire-type starter? Keep refusing to just give me the information I want and you know which one it'll be."

"I can't tell you where Moltres is... I guess you're just going to do what you want..." Ritchie said mournfully.

"Wrong," Butch said. "What I want is for me and my partner to be able to capture Moltres. That's all I want. You tell me where Moltres is, and I'll let you and your pokemon go with no comment and no further harm. If you don't, I'm going to end the life of your pokemon in a few seconds here. Your actions directly influence mine. Understand?" Butch said firmly.

Ritchie nodded slowly. He imagined the majestic, proud Moltres, attacked and possibly captured by these rocket members, and how awful it would be. And how guilty he might feel, knowing that Moltres was caught because he'd said something. Ritchie also recalled his journeys with Zippo, all of the gym badges they'd won, all the times they'd played together... The first pokemon was the one with the most memories. But could he really look at Zippo, at the rest of his pokemon, knowing he'd ratted out the legendary that they all admired?

"So, what's it going to be? Ready to map out Moltres's location?" Butch asked.

Ritchie swallowed nervously. "No," he said.

Butch didn't respond at all, just stepped behind Ritchie. Ritchie heard his footsteps, moving across the cabin. He then heard the a loud, crashing sound. Ritchie screamed as he heard it. "Moron," Butch said, smacking him in the head. "Don't fucking make the decision if you aren't willing to accept the consequences."

Ritchie cried. Zippo... Was gone now. This person was ruthless. Cruel. He'd hurt Ritchie, Ritchie's pokemon, and all other pokemon with no remorse at all. But it was over now. For the better or worse, this it the decision that he'd made. Zippo was gone, Moltres was still safe, at least... He could be comforted with this fact at least. But Ritchie gasped as he saw Butch walked into his line of sight again.

Butch looked at him with a mock version of a smile, holding up the next pokeball. "Ready to tell me, now?" he said. Seeing Ritchie's gaping expression, he just shrugged. "I haven't got time for this shit. Guess you need a little more convincing. So, this one must be Butterfree, huh? I guess you raised it up from a caterpie. That's something simple for newbie trainers. But your's is a cut above the rest, you being such a damn prodigy and all, isn't it? Think you can raise another to such a level?"

Ritchie shut his eyes tightly. There was no way that Happy, his butterfree could be replaced, no matter how many caterpie he captured and raised. It had nothing to do with the level. Happy was his friend, one that enjoyed battling and was fiercely loyal to him.

"Ready to change your mind?"

Ritchie paused. Zippo was gone, had died to go against this terrible group. How could he just cave in now, considering? "No," Ritchie said again.

This time Butch was quicker. As Ritchie heard the loud, haunting sound again, he screamed yet again and began to cry. Butch walked back over to him, slammed the map on the ground, then unbound Ritchie's hand, forcing the boy to the ground as well. He took his hand and wrapped it around a pencil, forcing both his gaze and hand to the part of the map where the volcano was. "Moltres's somewhere around here, right? Just tell me where. And it better be exact. You know what will happen if you lie to me."

"I-I'm not telling you anything," Ritchie said, dropping the pencil.

"What a fucking pathetic mess of a trainer you are."

"I-I-"

"Those pokemon depend on you, you moron. You're responsible for them, you're their trainer! And what do you do? Let them get killed while defenseless in their pokeballs. You gonna let it happen four more times? No matter what you do as a trainer from now on, how could you make up for something like this? It's been your choice all along. Like I really want to destroy a bunch of common pokemon like this. It's a waste of my time. So hurry up, make the right choice, protect your damn pokemon like a good trainer. Not like anyone will ever know you were the one to lead us to Moltres. So just do it already."

Ritchie stayed on the ground, still crying. He tried to push himself up with his now free hands, but Butch shoved him down again. He didn't touch the pencil that had been placed in his hand before.

"Fine," Butch said plainly. He kept one foot on Ritchie's back and reached for more pokeballs. One, two, and three. Ritchie kept crying, especially as he saw some of the debris of the pokeballs scatter into his view. After the third, Butch leaned down to Ritchie, lifting up his head by the hair. "It's still in your power, you know. You've had the power all along. It's not often that you do, right? Even the power you have usually is borrowed from your pokemon, isn't it? A powerless little kid like you couldn't wander this mountain, or anywhere else in the world without them, right? And you refuse to protect your protectors, and for what? The sake of a pokemon that historically doesn't need any protection, especially from a weak little brat like you."

Ritchie only cried more. It was true, his pokemon had protected him, and he'd failed them. If only he'd been more careful, then he might not have been kidnapped by this group.

"You won't even make it off this mountain without any pokemon, will you?" Butch said. "That's why I've left you just one more," he said, placing the last pokeball in front of him.

"Sparky," Ritchie said. So, his pikachu was still there. So, this was it? After killing his pokemon, he was going let him go with just one? Was it really over now?

"This pikachu's your favorite, huh? That's why you have it outside its pokeball all the time, isn't it?" Butch said. He plucked it out of Ritchie's sight. "Now, go ahead and map Moltres's location for me." Butch again placed the pencil forcefully in Ritchie's hand.

Ritchie held the pencil, but didn't move at all.

"What's wrong with you, kid?! I kill this last pokemon, and you won't have any at all. You won't even be able to be a trainer without pokemon. You need pokemon to catch pokemon, and no one's just going to give you another one, considering what you let happen to these pokemon here."

Ritchie thought of Sparky, the pokemon who sat on his shoulder happily all the time now. His third pokemon, and the one that he now spent most of his time with. Sparky was always there to listen. He didn't want anything bad to happen to Sparky. But if he walked away now without the others... Well, Sparky couldn't ask him with the same words as people, but Sparky would want to know what had happened to all of the other pokemon, and why they didn't try and see Moltres again the way Ritchie had said they would. How could he back down now? He had to stick to his guns. He dropped the pencil.

Butch narrowed his eyes and stepped away. Another bang could be heard. "S-Sparky!" Ritchie yelled, crying again. Butch grabbed him by the shirt and slammed him to the ground over and over again.

"You fucking brat! Don't think I'm opposed to killing humans, either! I'm gonna fucking murder you! Tell me what I want to know or I'll blow your brains across the ground and leave you here! Do you want to die? It's permanent, you know! I guess you want to fucking die!" Butch raged as he beat Ritchie.

Ritchie felt Butch's blows and cried more in his terror. He was all alone, no pokemon to protect him. He was cut and bruised from all of the blows he'd taken, and remained completely subject to all of this person's whims. Butch's rage eventually died down and he felt some relief. But then Ritchie felt the cold object pressed against his head.

"You're really going to make me do this, aren't you?" Butch said in a eerily calm voice. "Fine, then. Put in a word for me on the other side. Guess it won't be a good one... But it can't be helped."

"Wait!" Ritchie said. He sweat turned cold from his pure terror. Tears still fell down his face. "Wait!" he yelled.

Change of heart? Butch thought this to himself and removed the gun from the kid's head. He let Ritchie guide the conversation now.

"Just w-wait, I'll tell you. I'll show you Moltres's hiding place."

Butch just watched as Ritchie picked up the pencil himself, circling a spot on the map. He picked up the map and bound Ritchie's hands again, then walked over to the radio. "Cassidy, you there?" he said.

"Sure. What took you so long, Butch? I've been looking around myself but haven't seen anything, as usual," Cassidy's voice came from across the radio.

"Well, the kid wouldn't give it up. But I can send you the exact location now."

"Sure it's accurate?" Cassidy said.

"No, I guess I'll just have to kill him if it's not," Butch said.

"W-wait," Ritchie said. "I think the map might have been upside down."

Butch walked away from the radio, again unbinding Ritchie and having him mark another location on the map. So it had taken him all that just to consider lying, Butch realized. That very likely wasn't where he would have marked if it were upside-down. He let it go without comment, and again tied up Ritchie before going to relay the new information to Cassidy.

An hour or so later, Cassidy came back, looking a little worse for wear, but holding an R-laden pokeball in her hands. "It's our success," she said.

Butch felt some pride and relief. But then he noticed that Cassidy seemed to scan the dimly-lit room, and her eyes fell on the still sobbing Ritchie. She turned her head. She must be pretty disgusted, Butch realized. The little kid was physically battered up, and apparently emotionally beaten too. It must be a pretty disgusting sight, Butch thought.

"What do we do with this kid?" Cassidy asked, still looking in the opposite direction.

"I'll take care of it," Butch said. He walked over to him, dumping all six pokeballs in front of him. He could just take them, Butch considered, but he didn't feel like being so petty, so pointlessly cruel, for the sake of some mostly unevolved and likely powerless pokemon. He'd done more than enough here, anyway.

Ritchie stared, seeing the pokeballs and their familiar sticker symbols. He realized what this meant, but it didn't make him feel any better, he just cried even more. How could he even face his pokemon now? He'd really thought they'd been killed. He'd been willing to give up their lives but not his own, and he'd even wasted their sacrifice. Them being still alive... It didn't make a bit of difference, because he'd thought they'd been dead and still gone on like this. He'd protected himself, but not them.

"Don't feel bad, kid. Everyone needs to look out for number one," Butch said.

"That's terrible. You're a terrible person. I don't even believe you," Ritchie said.

"And you're a terrible decision maker. But you'll learn," Butch said.

"As if I should take advice from you!" Ritchie said. "You'd just sacrifice your pokemon for anything, wouldn't you?"

"No," Butch said plainly. "I would have chosen my pokemon over the damn legendary pokemon in the first place. An 'all or nothing' attitude like your's has you losing it all most of the time. You didn't know that? I guess you've been used to having it all... But now you know, life really doesn't always work that way. Keep that lesson in your mind for the future."

Ritchie just sobbed more. Butch knocked him out again, then untied him and turned to Cassidy. "Let's get the hell out of here," he said.

They did so, floating out into the ocean on their hidden boat once they'd reached the shore. Butch let Cassidy take control of steering it, and just stared out at the island as the lights from it got smaller and smaller in the distance. He shook his head. Yeah, they'd finally been successful, but what was he even doing? It was once thing to make grown men cry, but a little kid? Sure, he was obviously very privileged to be in the position he was in, maybe a little spoiled. It was kind of sickening, the more he'd learned about it.

But that didn't mean that he'd had to absolutely devastate the boy. Butch recalled the terrified look on his face as he'd 'killed' the pokemon, and then threatened the little boy's own life. Butch took a look at the gun he'd used to do it with, he was still holding it. Threatening kids with death, terrifying them and maybe scarring them for life, this wasn't anything close to what he'd wanted to do with his life. He'd tried everything legitimate, he couldn't get anywhere beyond poverty with that. But was climbing up worth doing things like this? Did he really have any other options?

Butch took the gun barrel and placed it in his mouth. In an instant, he felt someone grab his hand, and he was looking at Cassidy's enraged expression. "What do you even think you're doing?!" she demanded.

Butch looked away, slightly ashamed. He'd known doing something like that was wrong, but... "For a minute there, I just felt like ending it," he admitted.

Cassidy snatched the gun out of hand and threw it off the boat and into the water. "Why the hell would you even consider that, Butch?" she demanded, shaking him as she did. "We finally reached our goal, we should be celebrating."

"You saw what I did to that kid back there, I fucking destroyed him! I'm a terrible person to do things like that, I shouldn't even be breathing, yet alone celebrating!" Butch said. He looked down. "I could tell how disgusted you were," he added quietly.

"Yeah, you messed up that kid pretty badly, didn't you?" Cassidy said. "I can only imagine what happened, seeing the state he was in. It was painful just to look at."

Butch looked away. Of course she hated him, and preferred clods like James, who didn't do stuff like this. It didn't matter that James was a failure, because people who failed at expressing absolute evil would definitely be more alluring to anyone.

Cassidy took hold of Butch's head and forced him to look at her. "It wasn't my disgust you were seeing," she declared firmly. "It was relief. I was just relieved that you did it so I didn't have to. And I would have done the same thing. Actually, I doubt I would have been near as nice as you were. I was happy that you'd done the job instead. We do what we have to, just like everyone else on the whole damn planet. You understand that better than anyone, don't you?"

Butch took a deep breath, and slowly nodded.

"So don't ever pull anything like that again. Because I can't do crap like this on my own. I'm counting on you. Don't ever even think of killing yourself again! You're the only competent agent that I can count on, and I need you. Understand?"

"Yeah," Butch said.

"You'd better understand," Cassidy said. She was still trembling as she finally moved away from him. "It really scared me, seeing you like that."

"I'm sorry..." Butch said. "I don't think I would have really gone through with it. I was just bullshitting. Sorry."

Cassidy nodded. "Good," she said. Then she held up the pokeball. "Moltres, the legendary pokemon... Don't tell me you don't want to enjoy this success with me," Cassidy sighed happily.

"Yeah, I'm enjoying it," Butch said with a smile. He shouldn't let some spoiled brat that he hadn't done any real lasting damage to spoil this moment. "It's only the first success of many, right?"

"Right," Cassidy said. They'd been doing research for many legendary pokemon. With that knowledge, plus the knowledge, resources, and backing of rocket scientists who would probably have confidence in them from this success, they were on their way up in Team Rocket.


End file.
